Shrine of Dolls

Shrine of Dolls Kanji 形代神社 Game Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water Located at Unfathomable Forest Function Shrine Status Abandoned

The Shrine of Dolls (Japanese name: Katashiro Jinja) in the Unfathomable Forest on Mount Hikami is a lesser, though much larger, branch of the Rear Shrine of Dolls at the Twilit Peak.

Background

The Shrine of Dolls was built over an underground tunnel leading to the Womb Cavern, where Maidens of Black Water were sunk in reliquaries. Shiragiku's box was buried under the main building. After the mountain was cursed by the failure of Ose Kurosawa's ritual, just as they had done at the rear shrine, people made offerings of dolls called effigies, which represented children who had died.

In modern times, in an attempt to turn the mountain into a tourist attraction, an unnamed man came to restore the shrine and mend the dolls. He noted that the worshippers who came to visit the shrine would still leave dolls as offerings, and decided to keep them all enshrined there, and perform funerals for them. While he was staying at the shrine he started to dream that there were children playing nearby, one of whom was his own late daughter. He also dreamed of a girl with white hair, who he felt was able to read his mind.

A series of disasters put an end to attempts to redevelop the mountain, numbers of worshippers declined, and the shrine was abandoned once again. It remained untouched, with all the dolls still displayed both inside and on the veranda. It is haunted by Shiragiku and the spirits of the dead children, who attempt to draw visitors into their games.

In Fatal Frame V, Haruka Momose goes through the shrine on her way to the Womb Cavern, and Fuyuhi Himino and Yuri Kozukata come to search for her. Ren Hojo and Rui Kagamiya also visit, looking for the way to the Watarai Residence through the caves, and Rui is almost spirited away by the ghostly children.

Misc. Info

• Unused files for what appears to be an early version of the Shrine of Dolls were left in the game, and discovered in the remastered version in 2021. A video exploring the shrine and surrounding forest can be viewed here.